Question before I go ahead and get performance II's

[hurders]

Before I commit and get a set of performance II's for my toms I just want to ask whether they will sound too dead on my Pearl Session Custom (Maple shells). (I did see the recent performance II's thread but wanted to ask a couple of specific questions).

I have checked the 30+ reviews on musiciansfriend and most seem to be positive but one or too have said that they have made their toms sound like a cardboard box or like they are playing with a towel over their batter head. Also there seems to be quite a few people who believe you shouldn't use these kind of heads on decent kits. I would say my kit is semi-pro but I am looking for quite a muffled dampened sound that I think the performance II's will give. I have been using pinstripes for a fair while now but not massively impressed and its defineitely time for a change.

There is also the question of volume with a few people saying you really have to smack the performance II's to get them to be heard, is this true?

I have been considering EC2's but don't think they would be noticeable different from the pinstripes. I really don't want any ringy overtones when I hit my toms, are these the heads for me?

[DamoSyzygy]

They would do what you ask, but I question why you would not want overtones on your kit. The quality of your set is easily high enough to have a lovely resonance, why clog it up?

Also remember that performance II's will really struggle to project in an unmic'd situation. Personally, Id be looking into Response II or Super-2 heads.

[tamadrummer132]

well i have the same heads, on the same set, and i think they are O.K. Not great, but ok.

They are VERY hard to tune on my 10" tom but the 12,14,16 sound good. But i would look into something else.

[bfrancese]

They would do what you ask, but I question why you would not want overtones on your kit. The quality of your set is easily high enough to have a lovely resonance, why clog it up?

Also remember that performance II's will really struggle to project in an unmic'd situation. Personally, Id be looking into Response II or Super-2 heads.

Yep. Open it up mate.

B

[hurders]

I'm really reluctant try non-muffled heads for some reason, i'm worried that they will just sound really boingy. I mean, I have clear abassadors as resos and if I hit them they create a real horrible boingy sound and some people use them as batters. I guess I am concerned that any non-muffled batter head is going to sound like that. I know response II/emporers etc. are 2 ply but I really don't want that boing sound that I am imagining (I know properly tuned they would most likely sound great).

Another thing is I have my drums set up in my lounge and overtones get exagerated a lot so acoustically it is difficult to tell how heads will sound in a performance situation but I generally will be using mics when playing live.

About the super 2's, what is the difference between these and response 2's? I see they also come with studio-x ring? What exactly are the super 2's?

[JoeyWaters]

First off, any crappy sounds coming from the reso side are because the resos are either not in tune with themselves, or they are not in tune with the batter side, or both. The best advice I can give for getting rid of bad, boingy overtones is to tune the reso to a nice, pure tone with no batter head on. I like to crank mine for a wide open sound, some like to have a medium tuning for a fatter tone. Then, put the batter head on, and tune the batter either slightly lower than the reso or right at the reso.

To further reduce the boingies, try coated batters and resos.

The Super 2s are 2 ply heads that are a little thinner than regular two ply heads; thus a more round, responsive, and full tone. I have them on my Starclassics, they are the best heads I have played. If you get them with the Studio-X ring, they should have a nice, round, and fairly dry tone. These may be just what you are looking for.

[hurders]

I'm by no means the best tuner but I think what I call a boingy sound coming fro the resos is just my opinion and I'm sure others would say thats how abassadors should probably sound. I checked out that video on youtube of Roy Burns talking and playing his different Aquarian tom heads and I thought the classic clear he plays (and the response 2 heads to some extent) sound similar, resonance wise, to how my abassador resos sound but I wouldn't want my toms to sound like that when I hit the batter. The sound is quite poor on that clip but I would still say out of all of the heads the performance II's sound nearest to what I want. They don't have the super II's so if anyone has a sound clip of super 2's being played that would be really helpful.

[aceman]

Any 2 ply head with a quality reso. wont have any "boingy" sounds if tuned properly. Especially your Pearl Sessions.

[el presidente]

First off, are you doing any recording in the near future. Deadend heads DO NOT record as well as heads that have some resonance and some tone. I used to play on performance 2's and they are fairly dead. My expierience was worsened by the kit I used to play, they were concert toms with worn out bearing edges.

Try em. But if you're recording, let your toms ring.

[Budiesel]

Batter Head - Evans Coated G2

Reso Head - Evans Coated G2 for a beautiful resonance sound for the audience

or

Reso Head - Evans Clear G1 for a nice punch, but somewhat muffled sound.

I was testing out some heads and those are the outcomes i got. Just my 2 cents. Hope it helped a little bit.

[hurders]

Ok, so I am very tempted to get some coated 2plys but which are the best or is there no real difference? It's between the coated G2's and Response 2's, I've gone off Remo.

[mind_drummer]

Ok, so I am very tempted to get some coated 2plys but which are the best or is there no real difference? It's between the coated G2's and Response 2's, I've gone off Remo.

If you want not so open two ply head like the Super-2 (even with the studio-x ring) and fear Performance II might muffle too much then my best advise would be to go with coated Response II. I have them on my both floor toms and you get that deep controlled and focused sound that many love. Doing this way you'll see and hear if you want more muffling or openess next time you'll replace your head.

[aceman]

Batter Head - Evans Coated G2

Reso Head - Evans Coated G2 for a beautiful resonance sound for the audience

or

Reso Head - Evans Clear G1 for a nice punch, but somewhat muffled sound.

I was testing out some heads and those are the outcomes i got. Just my 2 cents. Hope it helped a little bit.

Might have that bass ackwards budiessel. Coated g2 resos. will take away any resonant tone to your toms and clear g1's will add to the resonant of the drum. hince a 1ply clear head as opposed to a 2ply coated head.

[xush]

I checked out that video on youtube of Roy Burns talking and playing his different Aquarian tom heads and I thought the classic clear he plays (and the response 2 heads to some extent) sound similar, resonance wise, to how my abassador resos sound but I wouldn't want my toms to sound like that when I hit the batter.

cool, if you hadn't mentioned that, I wouldn't have known that clip was out there.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ot31HbyOlWE

quite interesting. I see why I didn't like the Performance IIs that were on my Tama kit when I got it.

I've got a set of Super 2s and texture-coated arriving soon, should have some clips in a week or two.

[Budiesel]

Might have that bass ackwards budiessel. Coated g2 resos. will take away any resonant tone to your toms and clear g1's will add to the resonant of the drum. hince a 1ply clear head as opposed to a 2ply coated head.

Those are the outcomes I got when testing out my new heads. I did have all clear G2's batters and clear G1 resos. I then decided to get coated G2's and left the G1's on the bottom, and the sound I got was a warm punchy sound with very little resonance behind the kit. I then took the drums outside and had somebody play them while i stood back and listened. It sounded good, but a bit too dead sounding for me. Later that night I went to my brothers high school band concert, and their jazz drummer is a friend of mine, and on that set, he had Coated G2 over Coated G2 , and up in the audience, it sounded like a professionally tuned drum set. It may just be my personal preference, but I know I loved the sound I heard from that combination.

[my sacred music]

i just dumped 80 bux on new heads. one of those heads was a performance II 13" head.
its alot like a pinstripe loaded with tons of moon gel and drum gum.

its a dead sound.

i love performance II's on my 16" floor tom though, but they just dont work for smaller drums.
they are also a quieter head. you do have to smack them to make them heard.
i would say you sould check out the studio x series.
i like the super II's they have out.

[gretsch223]

After looking for performance IIs, I could not get them in time for a gig i have next week so I settled for Coated Super IIs and WOW! They have a great low end sound for my 12 and 14 toms and they sound amazing! I would recommend Super IIs because if tuned correctly you can make the drums sound great!

P.S They are also very durable.

[DamoSyzygy]

I know response II/emporers etc. are 2 ply but I really don't want that boing sound that I am imagining (I know properly tuned they would most likely sound great).
Then youve answered your own question. Its all about how you tune them!

[masonni]

I have Super 2's on my kits and they are killer! I think I found a head to stick with for a long long time...

I stuck Coated Performance II's on the cheep kit I teach on and they sound really good! Makes that $400 drum set sound like a $1000 kit!

[hurders]

Well I've taken the plunge on gone and ordered a full set (12", 13", 16") of coated response 2's. Cost me just under £35 delivered which seemed a fairly decent price here in the UK. I would maybe have got some super 2's but they would have cost about £15 more and I'm poor!

They should come towards the end of the week. I've never used coated heads, infact I've only had clear pinstripes on my pearl maple session custom toms since i've had it so I hope the response 2's are relitively easy to tune!

[mind_drummer]

Good to see you took my advice into consideration. You'll like them, I'm sure. Install tune and play, no seating or cracking.

Have ear pleasant time ;-)